Okay, we all know that I'm not - and never have been - the kind of knitter to restrict myself to just one or two projects.
But what is it about this time of year that induces me to launch myself into yet another
enormous lace
project? Last year it was The Amazing Lace, with Fiddlesticks Knitting's "Peacock Feathers" pattern. This year,
it's
Pink Lemon Twist's "Mystery Stole 3" that has seduced me away from my other WIPs.
I mean, I've already got Kinzel's "Rose of England" on needles, plus Mmario's "Queen Anne's Lace" test knit, not to mention
two pair of socks and a summer cotton top. So why, in the name of all that's wooly, have I committed myself to knitting
Melanie's mystery stole on top of everything else?
I'd love to point fingers and lay blame elsewhere, but, truth be told, it's most likely just the result of a particularly
virulent strain of Startitis that seems to have gotten hold of me. It hasn't helped the condition at all that
I recently acquired copies of Jane Sowersby's Victorian Lace Today and Pam Allen and Ann Budd's lovely collaboration
Lace Style. Each of those books has several patterns that lit up my imagination, and the infamous Stash Closet contains
appropriate yarns for many of them.
I'm doomed.
Because, you see, there's also that bagful of Dale of Norway's "Falk" that would dearly love to be transformed into Fiona
Ellis' "Celtic Icon" pattern.
And the umpty zillion hanks and skeins of sock yarns offering to keep my toes warm this winter.
And the Rockin' Sock Club shipments that keep turning up.
And the book of Faroese shawl patterns that my favorite enabler (Mmario) loaned me.
And the Sea Silk whimpering quietly in the corner because I haven't cast it on yet.
And the ball of JoJoLand "Harmony" that I won in a blog contest over at
Keep Talking. Since I'll be seeing JoAnne again at next year's SeaSocks, I'd like to have that yarn knit up into a shawl or stole
to wear during the cruise.
It almost looks as if it's time to (shudder) start setting some priorities. Given my notoriously
fickle nature with knitting projects, I'm going to need to make some tough decisions, the first of which was to frog the Hanging
Garden stole that was in progress. The ball of Schaefer "Andrea" will go back to the stash closet, to wait for a better
pattern match.
Socks will continue - they're the perfect project for the long bus ride to the mall or the grocery store. Besides,
winter will arrive again, and I'll need warm woolies to warm my forever-frozen toes.
As for the Mystery Stole, something that rather boggles my mind is that I actually knit a swatch for it. Yeah.
Me. Swatching. How spooky is that? I even tried attaching beads to it, but that got really ugly really fast.
Still, the pale gray Cashwool from Lana Borgosesia is looking lovely on a 3.25mm needle, all by its lonesome.
We don't need no stinkin' beads!
Meanwhile, in spite of horrendously hot and humid weather, I'll be chugging away at the "Queen Anne's Lace" for the rest
of this week, praying that I won't run out of yarn. Wish me luck, okay?
Saturday was WorldWide Knit in Public Day, so the "sock in progress" and I ventured forth to the local mall's food court.
As usual, no other knitters turned up (not even the ones who had said they would - not entirely a surprise, but still...).
Heck, that never stopped me before.
Fortifying myself with a sandwich and a large soft drink, I settled into a spot near the center of the food court
and got out the sock. Muggles nearby moved to other tables. Sheesh, people, it's only string...
okay, maybe the four pointy sticks had something to do with their departures. Maybe not. Who cares?
Two hours later, my posterior began to complain about the hard steel chair, and no other knitters were anywhere in sight,
so I decided to move my center of operations elsewhere. It was nearly time for a bus that would take me
back downtown, where I could relax in a park for a bit and then ramble homeward.
Passengers on public transportation really don't deal well with the sight of someone knitting a sock. Again, this
has never stopped me before and it didn't stop me on Saturday either. What did cause me to put away
the sock was the young mother with a toddler who sat next to me for part of the ride. No way was I going to risk impaling
the child (or the child grabbing the sock and hurling it down the aisle, as he seemed intent on doing).
Still in all, the "sock in progress" has reached the toe decreases, and knitting happened in public in Syracuse.
Now if I could just make this horrible case of Startitis go away...
